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David J. Sorkin, Esq.
Download Bio Contact Case ManagerDavid J. Sorkin is the Barry and Teri Volpert Visiting Professor of Practice in Private Equity at the Harvard Law School, where he also serves as Co-Director of the Harvard Transactional Law Workshop.
From 2007 through 2023, Mr. Sorkin served as General Counsel and then Chief Legal Officer of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: “KKR”), a global investment firm with asset management, investment, capital markets and insurance businesses. He oversaw legal, compliance, enterprise risk, tax, and internal audit operations worldwide.
Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Sorkin was a partner in the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. At Simpson Thacher, Mr. Sorkin served as the outside counsel to private equity firms and their portfolio companies, as well as to public and privately held companies. During his tenure at Simpson Thacher, Mr. Sorkin was involved as outside counsel in three of the largest leveraged buyouts of all time—the acquisitions of TXU Corp. and HCA Healthcare by consortia of private equity firms and the acquisition of RJR Nabisco by KKR. He was also involved as outside counsel in some of the most significant corporate transactions of the era, including the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.
Mr. Sorkin has regularly participated on panels and as a speaker on topics related to private equity, mergers & acquisitions, and specific areas of legal liability including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and under the U.S. federal securities laws.
Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, Mr. Sorkin served from 1984 to 1985 as a law clerk to the Hon. Charles M. Merrill of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. He is a graduate of Williams College and the Harvard Law School.
Mr. Sorkin also serves as President of the Board of Directors of New Alternatives for Children, a non-profit healthcare and social services agency that works exclusively with children with complex medical needs. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts, and of the Gettysburg Foundation in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Sorkin’s experience, acquired in over four decades of private practice and as a general counsel, makes him exceptionally qualified to assist parties and their counsel in resolving business disputes through mediation, to act as a panelist in moot courts, and to serve as an expert.
Areas of Expertise:
- MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
- PRIVATE EQUITY
- CONTRACTS
- SECURITIES AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
- COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
- ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
- REAL ESTATE
- INSURANCE
- ANTITRUST